“I don’t think anyone knows how to follow that up,” Ash agrees. “But what I will say is that the Lions are a special case. Unless Strategia are truly warped, like Jag and Dr. Conner, they only kill when it’s necessary or in self-defense. Think about it; it’s a million times easier to outsmart or circumvent your opponent than it is to kill them. It’s like what Professor Gupta always says: the more you learn in deception class, the less you need to learn in others. You being Strategia doesn’t mean you’re a career assassin, it means that you have a very special set of skills, skills that can greatly impact the world for the better if you choose to use them properly.”

I listen, considering his words. What he’s saying makes sense even if it hasn’t been my experience as a Strategia thus far, and if I’m honest with myself, Aarya makes a point, too. In fact it was just earlier today that I argued for the destruction of Jag when I was under the influence of that truth serum, calling him a tragedy worth stopping. Maybe I don’t know myself the way I always thought I did, or maybe I’ve been unwilling to embrace who I really am. Either way, there is no road back to my life as I once knew it, and no amount of pining is going to change that. I need to start making decisions about what kind of Strategia I intend to be.

Ash’s lips turn up in a subtle smile, like he can hear my thought process. “And not to add fuel to the fire, but you’re attempting to upend the most powerful Family in all of Strategia. That combined with your parents’ legacies means you will never be anonymous again. In fact, if we manage to pull this off, you may very well become one of the most infamous Strategia in the modern world.”

My eyebrows push together, and despite myself, I laugh. “Thanks, Ash. Here I am struggling with this new identity and trying to figure out where my life goes from here and now I also get to be infamous.”

He smiles his mischievous smile. “Anytime.” But instead of looking away, he holds me in his gaze. “And I’ll be there.”

I tilt my head questioningly. “Be where?”

“With you,” he says, and the affection in his tone envelops me like a hug.

“Oh…right, I’d love to…I mean, cool, yeah, that’d be great,” I say, completely tripping over my words.

Ash’s grin widens. “Very smooth, November.”

My cheeks flush and I laugh. “Right? Just grace upon grace.”